N.B. The text “For Urgent Action” should be indicated at the beginning of the communication in order to facilitate its urgent transmission to the respec- tive mandate(s).

b. The  1503 Procedure
Each year the United Nations receives thousands of communications alleging the existence of gross and systematic violations of human rights and funda- mental freedoms. The Economic and Social Council consequently adopted a procedure for dealing with such communications. This is known as the 1503 procedure pursuant to the adoption of the resolution 1503 of 27 May 1970. It does not deal with individual cases but with situations affecting a large number of  people over a protracted period of time.

Procedure  for communications
A five-member Working Group of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (formerly Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities) receives a monthly list of complaints (“communications”) in conjunction with a summary of the evi- dence. The five-member Working Group meets for two weeks each year im- mediately prior to the Sub-Commission’s annual session to consider all communications and replies from Governments.
In instances where the Working Group identifies reasonable evidence of a consistent pattern of gross violations of human rights, the matter is referred for examination by the Sub-Commission. A majority decision of the Working Group’s members is needed for referring a communication to the Sub- Commission. The Sub-Commission then decides whether the situations should be referred to the Commission on Human Rights, through the Com- mission’s Working Group on Situations. Subsequently, the Commission assumes responsibility for making a decision concerning each particular situa- tion brought to its attention.
All the initial steps of the process are confidential, except the names of coun- tries which have been under examination. This ensures that a pattern of abuses in a particular country, if not resolved in the early stages of the process, can be brought to the attention of the world community.